Airport Extreme will not connect to internet

Question

Level 1

6 points

Airport Extreme will not connect to internet

After a power outage today, my wireless airport extreme router is no longer working properly. After establishing that my cable modem is working properly, I ultimately tried a hard reset on the airport extreme but I still have flashing amber lights indicating a problem connecting to the internet. I think the problem has to do with not recognizing the DNS servers. My internet provider is comcast and they had me change the DNS servers in the network settings to 75.75.75.75 and 75.75.76.76.

My airport utility is 6.3.5, the airport extreme is version 7.7.3 and my IOS is fully updated Yosemite 10.10.3

I am new to posting so I apologize if I have left off any important information.

Posted on May 2, 2015 7:13 PM

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Answer 1

May 2, 2015 7:56 PM in response to chicagotodd

Can we get the make and model number of your modem? That will tell us whether you have a simple modem, or a modem that also acts as a network router. The correct setup of the AirPort will vary according to the type of modem that is being used.

The AirPort has to receive a valid Public IP address from the modem before it will connect to the Internet, so that is the first issue that will need troubleshooting.

The reason for this is that when/if the AirPort receives a good IP address from the modem, DNS will configure itself automatically. However, if the AirPort does not have a valid IP address from the modem, trying to manually configure DNS settings is like putting the cart in front of the horse.

When you say that you established that the modem was working correctly, how did you do this? Did you connect your computer directly to the modem?

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Answer 2

chicagotodd Author

Level 1

6 points

May 2, 2015 8:08 PM in response to Bob Timmons

Thank you for the quick reply.

The modem is a Ubee Model No U10C035.30. Comcast stated that they checked it to make sure the internal router on the modem was not on.

I connected the modem directly to my laptop and I was able to use the internet with no problem. Currently, the internet is working on my mac connected to the airport extreme, but the wireless is not working.

I hope that helps.

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Answer 3

May 2, 2015 8:20 PM in response to chicagotodd

We understood from your first post that the AirPort Extreme would not connect to the Internet.

So, now the AirPort Extreme can get an Internet connection, since your Mac can connect using an Ethernet cable, correct?

When you say that the wireless is not working.......

Does this mean that the Mac and other devices cannot see the wireless network signal at all?

Does this mean that the Mac and other devices can see the wireless network, but cannot connect?

Does this mean that the Mac and other device can see and connect to the wireless network, but not get an Internet connection?

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Answer 4

chicagotodd Author

Level 1

6 points

May 3, 2015 5:26 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Let me try to clarify.

The airport utility shows the internet with a green light and that its connected, but the link to the airport extreme is flashing amber and states it has two problems under states. One is the internet connection and two is no DNS servers. I did try to manually add the DNS servers under the internet tab in utility but that didn't seem to help with the internet connection.

So the Mac and other devices are seeing the new network I created after the hard reset, but they are not connecting to it or getting an internet connection.

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Answer 5

May 3, 2015 5:39 AM in response to chicagotodd

Sorry, but I am still confused by your statement above that......

Currently, the internet is working on my mac connected to the airport extreme, but the wireless is not working.

So,you are saying that the Mac really does have an Internet connection when it connects directly to the AirPort Extreme using a wired Ethernet connection?

I understand that none of your devices can connect using wireless.

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Answer 6

chicagotodd Author

Level 1

6 points

May 3, 2015 5:42 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Right, the mac has an internet connection via a wired ethernet connection from the airport extreme. This allows me to get internet access.

Right, the devices can see the see the name of the new network but they cannot connect to it. The wheel just spins and my iPhone is using its cellular connection to get internet.

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Answer 7

May 3, 2015 5:57 AM in response to chicagotodd

Very strange.

All that I can suggest is that you start over again with the modem and AirPort Extreme. If you decide to try this, here is how I would go about this:

Power off the modem. If it has an "Off" switch, use that to power off, but also disconnect the wire from the outboard modem power supply or disconnect the power supply from wall AC socket. In other words, no current at all will be reaching the modem.

Leave the modem powered off for at least 30 minutes. This should allow the equipment back at the cable company to fully reset and issue a new valid IP address.

Disconnect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the Airport

With the AirPort powered on, hold in the reset button on the back of the AirPort for 7-8 seconds and release. Allow a full minute for the AirPort to restart. Then, power off the AirPort Extreme, either by pulling the power cord from the back of the device or pulling the plug from the wall AC jack.

After the 30 minute modem power down connect the Ethernet cable from the modem to the WAN "O" port on the AirPort.

Power up the modem and let it run by itself for at least 10 minutes.

Then, power up the AirPort Extreme and let it run 2-3 minutes

Setup the AirPort again and report on your results.

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Answer 8

chicagotodd Author

Level 1

6 points

May 3, 2015 6:05 AM in response to Bob Timmons

Ok, I'll try it. Thank you again for your help.

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Answer 9

chicagotodd Author

Level 1

6 points

May 3, 2015 7:23 AM in response to chicagotodd

New network is working after those steps. Thank you.

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Answer 10

May 3, 2015 10:05 AM in response to chicagotodd

That is good news. I can only guess that the connection equipment back at the cable company was not fully resetting previously, and the extended modem power down forced it to do so.

The cable company will tend to tell you that the modem and connection will reset quickly. I have not found that to be the case in a number of situations, so while it seems like overkill, powering off the modem for 30 minutes or more will never hurt....and will often solve a connection issue.

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Answer 11

spdndmn

Level 1

4 points

Jun 4, 2015 9:14 AM in response to Bob Timmons

I had the exact same problem and took me over a day on the phone with Comcast and Netgear, should have searched for this in the beginning...go figure. Thanks.

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